I’m still in awe that I had that much to say.

Then again, it took me five years to get here, and I probably could have done it in a shorter time frame. Oh well.

What I am proud of is that I never stopped completely. Even when I took a year off, I came back. So much life has happened over these last five years, and I’ve tried to stay open to the lessons the Lord wants to teach me through it all.

Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way.

Writing doesn’t require inspiration, but it sure helps.

What I’ve learned is that I have some control over how inspired I feel. What am I taking in? What’s feeding my mind and soul?

That matters.

If I want to create, I have to pay attention to what I’m consuming. The more I read, learn, observe, and spend time with God, the easier it is to tap into creative endeavors.

Planning helps.

A lot.

Some people can sit down and write on demand. I can sometimes do that, but having a plan makes everything easier. Keeping a running list of ideas and scheduling posts has helped me tremendously.

Always be writing.

Even if it’s only for 15 minutes.

I can write a surprising amount in 15 minutes when I actually sit down and focus. Those small pockets of time add up faster than you think.

Done is better than perfect.

I read a quote from Jerry Seinfeld that said:

“Just make it exist first. You can make it good later.”

That phrase really spoke to me.

Make it exist.

So many ideas never make it out of our heads because we spend too much time trying to perfect them. Writing is birthing ideas and putting them out into the world for people to see. You can always improve something later, but first it has to exist.

Consistency builds consistency.

I’ve done really well this year scheduling posts, and I’ve noticed something interesting. Consistency doesn’t just produce results, it produces more consistency.

The more you do something, the easier it becomes to keep doing it.

If you keep writing, you won’t run out of material.

I used to worry about this all the time.

What if I run out of things to write about?

But this year I worked on three different writing projects. I finished the first draft of my book, continued writing for the blog, and started contributing to a devotional at church.

There’s some crossover, but not much.

Being consistent has allowed the ideas to flow. One idea often leads to another, and another after that.

Make time for your gift.

I don’t always do this well.

Life gets busy, and writing can easily get pushed to the side. But I notice a difference when I make time for it. There are gifts God gives us that require intentional space to grow, and writing is one of those gifts for me.

Keep reading.

In a world full of distractions, reading books can get lost in the shuffle.

But reading helps writing. It stretches your thinking, introduces new ideas, and exposes you to different voices. The best writers are usually readers too.

Audience doesn’t matter as much as obedience.

This may be the biggest lesson of all.

For a long time, I worried about whether people would read my work. How many views would it get? Would people share it? Would it resonate?

Those things are nice, but they aren’t the point.

This is my gift, and I trust that it will get to the right people as long as I’m obedient in using it.

My job is to write. God can handle the reach.

I hope it doesn’t take me another five years to get to 600, but priorities change and life happens.

I remember hearing Joyce Meyer say she wanted to write 100 books, and she didn’t start until she was around my age. Forty.

I don’t want to write 100 books, but I do want my work to be consumed by as many people as possible. More importantly, I want to faithfully use what God has given me.

Three hundred posts later, I think the biggest lesson is simple:

Just keep showing up.

Keep showing up when you’re inspired.

Keep showing up when you’re tired.

Keep showing up when life gets busy.

Keep showing up when nobody seems to be paying attention.

Keep showing up when you’re not sure what to say.

Because sometimes the accomplishment isn’t the number of posts.

Sometimes the accomplishment is becoming someone who keeps writing.

Until next time,

Dominique

I hit 200 on January 1, 2021.

Five years later, I’ve hit 300.

So much has happened in between—another baby, a promotion, a major writing project completed, new video content, a growing platform, and earning my life coach certification.

God has pushed me and stretched me in ways I didn’t see coming. He challenged me to stop playing it safe in my writing—to dig deeper, peel back the layers, and tell the truth. To stop being afraid and trust that He would meet me on the other side.

Now for the thank-yous—award show style:

First, I have to thank God—who is the head of my life. Cue the music. 😂

But seriously… thank you, God. None of this would be possible without You.

To my day ones—thank you. I haven’t always been consistent, but you stayed with me.

To my friends who asked where my posts were—thank you for holding me accountable.

To my Care Group—thank you for letting me practice on you. My writing and confidence grew because of you.

To my husband—thank you for giving my gift room to grow and for always encouraging me.

To my new followers—thank you for trusting me and continuing to come back.

My heart is so full of gratitude for anyone who takes the time to read the words I write. People all over the world read my writing, and that will never stop amazing me.

Keep coming back.

I’m excited to see where we’re going next

Until next time,

Dominique

“Pray all the time” literally means pray all the time.

I don’t always do that.

More often than not, I pray after I’ve already started something — or in the middle of it — when things start looking a little… suspect. All my natural hair girls know exactly what I mean. You don’t pray before you start, you pray when it’s already halfway done and you realize this might not turn out how you planned.

But by then, it’s usually too late.

This time was different.

I prayed beforehand, not while I was in the middle of it. And I realized something important: I needed God’s hand in every part of the process, not just when I felt stuck or unsure.

That’s why the Word talks so much about spending time with God at the start of your day.

Not because early mornings are holy in themselves — but because order matters.

It doesn’t have to be early if you don’t get up early. It just needs to happen before you get on social media, before you check email, before you let the noise of the day rush in. Give God some time first.

Ask Him for help with everything you need to do that day.

Big things.

Small things.

The things you think you can handle on your own.

The Bible tells us to pray for everything and to pray without ceasing. If God is telling us that, why do we pick and choose what we ask Him for?

Why do we invite Him into the big moments but leave Him out of the ordinary ones — the routines, the tasks, the decisions we think don’t matter?

Try This Today

Take a few minutes and write down your to-do list for today.

Then spend a few more minutes asking God to help you with those tasks — not just to get them done, but to do them well, with wisdom, patience, and peace.

Praying all the time doesn’t mean being on your knees all day. It means staying connected. It means remembering you don’t have to do any part of this alone.

“Never stop praying.”

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (NLT)

I’m learning that praying all the time isn’t about being super spiritual — it’s about being honest. About admitting I need help before things get messy, not just after.

God doesn’t need a crisis to hear from us. He’s already there, ready to walk through the ordinary moments with us. The question is whether we’ll remember to invite Him in.

My miracle baby turned 7 years old on 5/20.

Honestly, I never would have thought we would be here. There was a time when becoming a mom felt uncertain. It took 7 years for him to get here, and now somehow he has been here for 7 years. That alone feels full circle to me.

Seven years of waiting.
Seven years of loving him.
Seven years of watching a prayer become a person.

And what a person he is becoming.

He is so smart, so strong, and so sweet. He deals with things that no 7 year old should have to with grace. He notices things. He asks deep questions. He makes me laugh. He challenges me. He stretches me. He has taught me patience, softness, perspective, and a kind of love that changes you permanently.

Motherhood has not always been easy, but being his mom has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.

I think about how much waiting shaped me before he arrived. How much faith was built in the process. I wouldn’t be the woman and writer I am today if God didn’t make me wait. How sometimes God takes His time with the things that matter most.

Seven in the Bible often represents completion or wholeness, and this birthday feels meaningful in a way I can’t fully explain. Not because the story is finished, but because I can finally look back and see how much he has grown and how I’ve grown as well.

Until next time,

Dominique

Someone asked me if I can be more aligned with God, how can I be more aligned with my spouse?

That question hit me differently.

After 15 years of marriage, I’m realizing alignment isn’t about agreeing on everything.

It’s about learning how to keep turning toward each other while God continues shaping both of us.

Because it’s easy to separate the two.
To grow spiritually in private.
To feel grounded in prayer.
To sense God shaping your heart.

And then still feel tension at home.

But real alignment with God doesn’t stay vertical.
It stretches horizontal.

If God is softening me, it should show up in my tone.
If God is refining me, it should show up in my reactions.
If God is leading me, it should show up in how I love.

Alignment with my spouse isn’t about us becoming the same person.
It’s about us facing the same direction.

Alignment in Marriage Looks Like:

• Pausing before defending
• Listening without preparing a rebuttal
• Choosing understanding over winning
• Responding instead of reacting
• Apologizing without a paragraph attached

Sometimes obedience in marriage is quiet.
It looks like restraint.
It looks like humility.
It looks like surrender.

And surrender is not weakness.
It’s strength under control.

When I’m aligned with God, my ego doesn’t need to be fed.
My tone softens.
My timing improves.
My reaction speed slows down.
My need to win decreases.

That’s alignment.

We don’t drift into unity.
We build it.

Not by forcing agreement.
Not by controlling outcomes.
But by inviting God into the in-between moments:

“How do You want me to respond right now?”
“What am I protecting?”
“Is this about being right, or being loving?”

Where in your marriage might God be asking for alignment instead of defense?

Until next time,

Dominique

Connecting with God doesn’t usually fall apart because we don’t care, it falls apart because we think it requires more time, more quiet, more discipline than we actually have.

We wait for the perfect routine. The uninterrupted morning. The ideal version of ourselves who isn’t tired, distracted, or already behind.

But connection isn’t built by adding more to our schedule. It’s built by inviting God into the life we’re already living.

Sometimes that looks like a walk where your prayers are unfinished and your thoughts wander and God is still there. Sometimes it’s worship music playing while you clean, drive, or sit in traffic, turning ordinary moments into holy ones.

It might be the few quiet minutes in the shower where you finally exhale and tell God what you’ve been holding in all day. Or the drive to work when you turn everything off and let the silence say more than words.

Spiritual life doesn’t have to be rigid to be real. If it starts to feel stale, it may not be because you’re doing it wrong, it may be an invitation to try something new. Writing things down. Praying differently. Letting curiosity replace pressure.

The goal isn’t intensity. It’s attentiveness.

Faith grows through small, repeated moments of choosing to notice God and respond again and again even imperfectly.

So don’t overhaul your life this week. Just choose one small way to make space. Try it without overthinking it.

God meets us in small, faithful moments.
And those moments add up.

Until next time,

Dominique

My default coping mechanism was to freeze.

To burrow.
To hide.

And because I do, things take longer than they need to.

So how do you change a fixed mindset?

You move.

Inch by inch. Step by step. You move before you feel ready. You move without answers. You move when it doesn’t make sense.

Victory in life isn’t perfection — it’s the ability to reset, to pivot, to embrace what’s next.

We often overestimate the power the past has over us and underestimate our freedom to leave it behind. God only asks us to do the next right thing.

But movement doesn’t happen in isolation.

As your mindset shifts, your environment has to shift too.

That may mean changing:

• who you spend time with
• what you listen to
• what you watch
• what you consume

Anything that doesn’t feed what God is nurturing in you has to go.

When we remove unhealthy habits or thought patterns, we have to be careful not to replace them with busyness or different distractions. Scripture warns us that an empty, unguarded space will always be filled.

That’s why we have to be intentional, not just about what we remove, but about what we add.

We have to guard the vulnerable place where growth is happening.

Nothing not fear, not failure, not other people can take what God placed inside of you. But it does need protection.

Sometimes growth doesn’t look like bold leaps.
Sometimes it looks like quiet movement.
Sometimes it looks like choosing not to freeze.

Move anyway. God will meet you there.

Until next time,

Dominique

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What have you believed about yourself based on your current circumstances or past experiences?
What have those beliefs stopped you from doing?

We all carry quiet conclusions about ourselves. Some are obvious. Others are so familiar we don’t even question them anymore. But those beliefs shape what we attempt, what we avoid, and how we respond when things don’t go as planned.

One line that keeps coming back to me is this:
You make plans, but God makes paths.

That matters, because mindset determines whether we trust the path when it doesn’t look like the plan.

Fixed vs. Growth Mindset

A fixed mindset is the belief that abilities and intelligence are innate and largely unchangeable. People with a fixed mindset often see failure as a reflection of who they are, not something they did.

A growth mindset, on the other hand, is the belief that abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, learning, and persistence.

That difference sounds subtle — but it changes everything.

Signs of a Fixed Mindset

A fixed mindset often shows up as:

• Avoiding challenges
• Resenting or ignoring feedback
• Feeling threatened by others’ success
• Hiding flaws to avoid judgment
• Viewing failure as permanent

Reading that list can be uncomfortable. Many of us recognize ourselves in it — even if we don’t want to.

The hardest part isn’t admitting we’ve had a fixed mindset.
It’s realizing how long it’s been quietly making decisions for us.

Reflection

What belief about yourself have you accepted without questioning?
And what might be possible if that belief isn’t the full truth?

Sometimes growth begins not with effort — but with awareness.

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Until next time,

Dominique